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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rule — government
  3. cap — a hat
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. press — newspapers
  7. rule — a law
  8. field — for sport
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cap — a lid
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ball — a great time
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. press — to push
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stock — shares
  19. cap — of ice
  20. press — a publisher
  21. field — farmland
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. stock — goods
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com